Inside the museum: Post-WWII Japanese Scouting memorabilia

After World War II, America played a large part in the reconstruction of Japan. Thousands of American military and support personnel were, and still are, stationed there. Not surprisingly, Scouting followed in 1953 when the Far East Council was established for the military and expatriate community in Japan, Korea, Thailand, and other nearby countries.

The National Scouting Museum in Texas (bsamuseum.org) owns a fascinating trove of Far East Council gear recently provided by former Tokyo Scouter Steven Hales, who in the early 1960s belonged to Troop 1-1 at the U.S. Air Force Dependent Housing Area in Washington Heights, Tokyo. The collection includes patches, pins, shoulder strips, and more. On the pin and slides, Japanese characters spell out, “Always Be Prepared.”